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Cornering Freedom in China

What to do about China? That question is troubling U.S.
policymakers, as they grapple with the implications of the Middle
Kingdom’s rapid economic growth. Liberals worry about China’s
effect on manufacturing jobs, and conservatives suspect her
ambitions. Is it necessary for Americans to regard China’s economic
success and growing influence as a threat?

I thought about that question a lot during a recent trip to
China. An impromptu encounter on the campus of Renmin University in
Beijing, where I had the pleasure of interacting with some of the
young people who will become China’s business managers and
government officials in the coming decades, helped shape my own
answer.

Renmin University, also known as the People’s University of
China, has an enrollment of almost 19,000 and is one of China’s
most respected schools. It was founded in 1950 by the Communist
party. The children of many Chinese officials were educated there,
and three generations of Chinese leaders, Mao Zedong, Deng
Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin, have paid special attention to the
school’s development. So I was especially surprised by what I
learned.

It was about 8 P.M. on a Friday when I ventured onto Renmin’s
campus. In a courtyard near the school’s east gate, I discovered
some 200 students who were exchanging views about history,
economics, politics, and culture. It was U.S. history, economics,
politics, and culture that they were discussing - and they were
speaking English.

I moved through the crowd, sampling the various conversations
and marveling at the students’ knowledge of American politics and
history. As the only Westerner on the scene, I stood out.

Some students smiled and began to ask me questions. One asked
where I was from and I said, “The United States, Washington, D.C.”
Immediately, he flashed two thumbs up and said “Very good. America
is very good. America is our model.”

He ushered me to an area of the courtyard that was drawing the
largest crowds and asked me to evaluate his performance before
climbing atop a soapbox. He smiled and began:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on
this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated
to the proposition that all men are created equal…”

From memory, the student recited the Gettysburg Address. The
audience joined in enthusiastically for the final verse:

“… that government of the people, by the people, for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.”

A few students then took turns delivering Lincoln’s speech from
the soapbox. Each time, the crowd shouted the final lines. Several
students spoke about other subjects - whatever was on their minds.
The audience smiled, cheered and was so obviously engaged, that it
moved me deeply.

I had stumbled upon “English Corner,” Renmin’s version of
Speakers’ Corner, that eminent temple of free speech in London’s
Hyde Park. English Corner is a Renmin fixture every Friday night.
Students from all over Beijing come to practice their English, to
air their views and to learn more about the American experiment. I
was thrilled and impressed and, yes, proud.

Then someone suggested that I give Lincoln’s address. The crowd
roared in agreement. Embarrassed, I admitted that I hadn’t
committed it to memory. “No problem,” said a student, as he handed
me a printed version. “We would really like to hear a famous
American address given by a native English speaker.”

I ignored the possibility that I could be arrested for
subversion, and climbed the soapbox. Again, the crowd joined me in
reciting Lincoln’s final line.

Afterwards, several students approached me with questions about
the United States. The questions were sophisticated and diverse.
One asked about the conflicting visions of American government
proffered by Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Another asked
about U.S. foreign assistance to Europe following the First World
War. A young lady asked whether Hillary Clinton would be the next
U.S. president.

The students also wanted to know about U.S. protectionism and
the growing animus in Congress toward China. And some were curious
about what U.S. students think about their country.

I didn’t have answers, just my own opinions. The dialogue lasted
well over three hours. Before parting company with the remaining 15
or 20 students, we exchanged e-mail addresses and I promised to
tell my colleagues and friends about Renmin University, its
engaging students, and its commendable institution, English
Corner.

China has a long way to go to become and open and free society.
The government remains in firm control. But China is changing, and
there may be no better symbol of that change than Renmin University
- the alma mater of China’s Communist party where, today, students
quote Lincoln and contemplate Jefferson.

While thinking through U.S. policy toward China, the Congress
and the administration should know that a surprising number of
Chinese people embrace U.S. ideals and are fond of American
culture. At a time when U.S. policies are reviled around the world,
that is something to celebrate and promote. It strikes me as an
investment in government of the people, by the people, for the
people in China.